This report is part of The News Minute and Newslaundry's investigative series on how elite encroachments are eating up pavements across Indian cities.
In the occasional instance, one comes across a pavement in Bengaluru, the brief sense of astonishment and joy is quickly dampened by the potted plants, dumped garbage, and construction material that occupy it.
On a Monday afternoon in Indiranagar’s HAL 2nd Stage, the pavement outside a general store is taken over by rows of water cans. They are stacked and spread out so tightly that more than half of the pavement is occupied. A few steps ahead, crates of milk packets and groceries lean against the shop wall. The tiled footpath that should carry people on foot has become an extended storeroom.
This scene repeats itself across Indiranagar. At CMH Road, near the Indiranagar metro station, the pavements outside larger shops are claimed by their merchandise, tables piled with jewellery or clothing. On a Monday afternoon, the situation is relatively calm. Residents say evenings and weekends are another story, as street vendors completely encroach on the street, making it very difficult for pedestrians to walk.
“Pavements in Indiranagar are in terrible shape. Shops often extend onto footpaths or convert them into parking spaces for customers. Commercialisation has created havoc on residential roads that should have remained quiet access roads. Residents are bearing the brunt of this haphazard development,” said Aruna Newton, a member of the Indiranagar Residents Welfare Association.
The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) has laid down clear standards for pedestrian facilities. Footpaths in residential areas must have three distinct zones: a frontage or dead zone, a clear pedestrian zone, and a furniture or multi-functional zone. The pedestrian zone alone must be at least 5.9 feet, and in commercial areas, the minimum is 8.2 feet.
The issues are not isolated. TNM visited HAL 2nd Stage, Defence Colony, and Indiranagar 3rd Stage, where the footpaths fail to meet even the most basic IRC standards. They are too narrow, broken, or blocked by encroachments. The result: there is barely a single stretch of continuous, usable footpath. Everyone, from schoolchildren to the elderly, ends up walking on the road alongside moving traffic. For the elderly or disabled, the absence of safe, accessible walkways is even more glaring.
At Defence Colony, large potted plants in ceramic and plastic containers occupy entire stretches of the pavement, as if they were part of private gardens. In other places, residents have converted the footpath into a driveway, tiling it to blend seamlessly into their property. Pedestrians are left with no choice but to step onto the road.
“Do we really need to be told that encroachment is wrong? Citizens must play their part instead of leaving everything to enforcement,” Aruna said.
The 100 feet road presents a different paradox. Here, pavements are wider and better laid out. But they have become extensions of the traffic lane itself. Two-wheeler riders frequently mount the sidewalk during peak hours to escape congestion. When parking slots are full, the same pavements turn into parking bays for scooters and motorcycles.
Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, such parking is explicitly prohibited, but enforcement remains absent.
The problem is not new, nor is it limited to Indiranagar. On July 14, the Karnataka High Court issued notices to the state government, BBMP, and Bengaluru police in response to a PIL filed by Letzkit Foundation, an NGO, over the condition of roads and footpaths in the city. The petition cited a litany of common encroachments: gardens and barricades on pavements, large plant pots, business extensions, religious structures, construction material, public toilets, transformers, drinking water kiosks, and, above all, parked vehicles.
The petition added that a similar PIL had been disposed of in 2021 with directions already issued to authorities, yet little had changed three years later.
The frustration has reached residents’ associations. On August 18, I Change Indiranagar, a federation of RWAs, wrote to Bengaluru Police and BBMP officials. Their letter questioned whether BBMP’s survey of street vendors had covered areas in Indiranagar
They also asked if any designated spaces for vendors had been identified. The letter stressed that the main problem lay with “vendors with pucca shops on footpaths” and “vendors who cooked with combustible materials on footpaths,” both of whom, they argued, did not qualify as street vendors under the Act.
And yet, these areas see blatant encroachment by the residents themselves.
“Pavement violations are part of a larger breakdown, property misuse, poor urban planning, and weak enforcement. Singling out street vendors is unfair; they’re vulnerable and easy scapegoats while bigger violations go unchecked. This isn’t just a policing issue but one of planning, zoning, and governance,” Aruna said.
“Instead, authorities often target a balloon seller on the pavement. Yes, he obstructs movement, but he’s transient with no stable shelter; push him out from one spot and he moves to another. Making him the face of the problem to appease stakeholders is a systemic failure and a cop-out,” she added.
TNM contacted Greater Bengaluru Authority’s Zonal Joint Commissioner (East) Saroja BB and Chief Engineer M Lokesh. This article will be updated once a response is received.